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Russell Brown began working at Adobe in 1985 as a graphic designer, art director, and the company’s 38th employee. His journey to that role began with a creative spirit that traces back to his youth. Growing up in Kent, Washington, Brown was more interested in painting and photography at home than studying for A’s in school. His passion for creativity led him to earn a degree in ceramics at the University of Washington before he was encouraged by his father to pursue a second, more ‘practical,’ BFA in package design, filmmaking, and photography from ArtCenter College of Design.

Brown worked in industrial design in San Francisco before moving to Atari, designing packaging materials for the popular video game Pac-Man. When his Atari office closed its doors in 1984, Brown spent some time at Apple, where he was introduced to the Macintosh computer, PostScript, and the LaserWriter. Brown’s creative journey solidified once he was hired by John Warnock and Charles Geschke, founders of a newfound startup, Adobe, whose PostScript page description language would later be licensed by Apple for use in its LaserWriter printers.

Since 1985, Russell Brown has ridden the wave of technological innovation, having first witnessed demos of a new digital editing software in 1995 and ushering in the acquisition of Photoshop by Adobe from the Knoll brothers, becoming Adobe’s first “evangelist” (an expert in Adobe software who shares their knowledge of Adobe products through instruction, tutorials, and live events.) and training generations of Adobe employees and industry creatives in the potential of Photoshop.

Brown continues to push the limits of creative expression using Adobe technology, such as Photoshop AI. His photography, taken exclusively on iPhone, has gained an extensive following on social media. His work demonstrates the power of modern technology and photo editing.

Brown is also known as the boisterous host of live Adobe training courses. In 2024, he will host a hands-on course entitled Les Cirque Galactique designed for art directors, designers, and illustrators to learn advanced digital imaging techniques within a real-world project. Brown and a team of distinguished creative instructors will provide a class of 80 students the chance to work with some of the best artists in the industry and master new skills in advanced workflows using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Firefly. This preconference course precedes the annual Adobe MAX creativity conference inaugurated in 2003.

While 2024 Adobe MAX will be hosted live in Miami, guests can join for FREE online and still benefit from all the learning and inspiration in sessions, keynotes, and Sneaks. Online attendance is free and unlimited. Register here.

In this conversation, Brown traces the origins of his creative eye and reflects on the use of AI in the creative process. We discuss his transition from traditional analog mediums to digital and what the future may hold for Adobe Photoshop and the world of AI Photography. 

Follow Dr. Russell Brown’s latest projects on Instagram @dr_brown and explore his Vimeo channel (Russell Brown) for a treasure trove of creative content.